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July/August 2003 Alternative Health
Fibromyalgia and Myofascial Pain

by Todd Pennington, LMT Oregon Lic #3833

This syndrome is characterized by: muscle pain, fatigue and trouble sleeping. According to the medical definition, it takes 11 or more of the 18 predetermined trigger points being very sore (active) before it is technically called fibromyalgia, otherwise some would call it myofascial pain. How about the person with less than the required trigger point count? How about the one that has trigger points but not at the predetermined locations? While it may not technically be called fibromyalgia, they still hurt. How do they get help? The most common form of treatment is pain killers. The other main cure is to teach the client how to manage the pain. It works much of the time. The problem is that many symptoms are suppressed or ignored.

In my opinion, myofascial pain can have many causes. Some of them are: trauma (accidents), over use of the muscles, some diseases (hypothyroidism being one of them), some autoimmune conditions (lupus is one example), sleep disorders and emotions (grief, anger, sadness and more). Other causes may include: chemicals including prescription drugs, street drugs, plastics, food additives, household chemicals, work chemicals and more. There may be even more causes. This is not based on a study, but on observing life.

It would be nice if all the cases of myofascial pain would have the same cause, so that the same treatment would work to help in all cases. Each person is an individual. Even if every case had the same cause, each person would still need individual care. Each person reacts to treatment differently.

In Fibromyalgia and myofascial pain, the easiest factor to treat with massage is the muscle pain. Sleep deprivation may improve when the pain diminishes. The first thing, is that touch must be extremely light until proven otherwise. The way to start treatment is to gently work small areas to relax the surface tightness, and then slowly progress to checking for muscle-bone alignment - relaxing tight muscles can help allow the bones to realign. Check alignment at every joint of the body. If the cause is trauma, then finding the real cause points is critical. Gentle work at these locations frequently will help a lot. By knowing which muscles at a distance control an area, checking the control area, may reveal possible causes of the problem. It is possible to reduce the muscle pain.

After finding the problem patterns, your therapist will work gently to disarm small areas of soreness. This can take from minutes to several hours. In some cases, each square inch may take several minutes to release the surface tension. After the superficial soreness is released, then the underlying conditions can be examined. If everything is addressed at one time, it can be too much for the client to take. The work must proceed at a pace that the client can accept. With this level of pain, toxin dumps may occur. Consult your Naturopath or other Doctor concerning whether you should increase your water intake after a massage, if the symptoms persist, consult your doctor.

If the cause is chemical, the job of looking for cause points is less likely to have as much effect. In these cases, gentle full body massage (or as much as the client asks for) can help bring down the general pain level. Your physician (Naturopathic, MD, DO etc.) can look for causes other than tight muscles. In some cases it will take a specialist in either heavy metal or chemical sensitivity.

Fibromyalgia frequently causes sleep disorders and it can be caused by sleep disorders. Even one very tight muscle can interrupt sleep. Anyone with many very tight muscles can find a limited number of okay sleeping positions. In either case, working to release muscle pain frequently allows sleep to improve. The body does a lot of repair during deep sleep. When sleep is interrupted, deep sleep may be lost. This can result in less time for the body to repair.

Pain killers sometimes will work to change the pattern. Frequently they mask the pain for a short time. There are many different methods to change the muscle holding pattern. Many of them take months to years to make much difference. This is why many people work at learning how to live with the pain. We have found that NeuroMuscular Therapy and Control Muscle Release Therapy have the potential to make changes. Regardless of the cause of the Fibromyalgia, it may be possible to let go of at least some of the pain and sometimes all of the muscle pain.

NeuroMuscular Therapy is a comprehensive program of soft tissue manipulation techniques that balance the central nervous system with the structure and form of the musculoskeletal system. NeuroMuscular Therapy is based on neurological laws that explain how the central nervous system maintains homeostatic balance. NeuroMuscular Therapy looks at the cause of the problem, not just the symptoms. It is a gentle method of relaxing the muscles, one layer at a time.

Control Muscle Release Therapy looks at the muscles that control bone and muscles at a distance. The goal is to release the structure easily and gently. The easiest way to release the whole body is to relax the key regions of the body. In many cases long term (chronic) conditions can be improved.

For more information or an appointment call Todd Pennington, LMT, Oregon Lic #3833, Pam Pennington, LMT, Oregon Lic #8027. 10175 SW Barbur Blvd, Suite 306, Portland OR 97219. (503) 244-4427. www.penningtonmassage.com.